UKZN study finds relationship between heat exposure and miscarriage

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A study by a group of University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) scientists has found that a rise in temperatures with regard to climate change increases the risk of miscarriages among sub-Saharan African women.

UKZN Researcher Dr Yoshan Moodley says the study was conducted in the uMkhanyakude District of KwaZulu-Natal over a 5 year period from 2012 to 2016.

Moodley says, “We did a study in a community of women in northern KwaZulu-Natal, and we measured the amount of days that they were exposed to high temperatures and what the outcome of their pregnancy was, whether they had a live birth or whether they had a miscarriage. The results of our study showed that women who were exposed to allot of hot days in the month before they conceive a child were at higher risk of loosing that pregnancy.”

PODCAST | Moodley’s interview on Newsbreak on Lotus FM: